Thursday 5 April 2018

Alone Without Top of the Pops

It looks like we're back down to one Top of the Pops a week for the time being, and indeed there is no show at all next week, but keeping us company for now is this edition from 15th August 1985.

Happy just to be here


15/08/85  (Dixie Peach & Peter Powell)

King – “Alone Without You” (39)
King kick off tonight's show with what would become their second and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 8.

UB40 & Chrissie Hynde – “I Got You Babe” (3) (video)
Chrissie is looking good in this video and the song will get to number one in two week's time.

Phil Collins – “Take Me Home” (28)
Taking a break from his summer break to perform his fourth of five hit singles in 1985, this one peaking at number 19.

Total Contrast – “Takes A Little Time” (40)
Looking very dapper in their dinner suits for what was their biggest hit, peaking at number 17.

Dio – “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children” (38) (breaker)
Became their only top 30 hit, peaking at number 26.

Baltimora – “Tarzan Boy” (33) (breaker)
His only hit, it made it to number 3.

Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill” (9) (breaker)
Four years since her last top 40 hit, this one reached number 3.

The Top Ten Videos:
Nik Kershaw - "Don Quixote" (10) (video clip)
Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill” (9) (video clip)
The Cars - "Drive" (8) (video clip)
Billy Idol - "White Wedding" (7) (video clip)
Eurythmics - "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)" (6) (video clip)
Dire Straits - "Money For Nothing" (5) (video clip)
Tina Turner - "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" (4) (video clip)
UB40 & Chrissie Hynde – “I Got You Babe” (3) (video clip)
Madonna - "Holiday" (2) (video clip)

Madonna – “Into The Groove” (1) (video)
Third of four weeks at number one.

D Train – “You’re The One For Me” (27) (audience dancing/credits)
Originally peaked at number 30 in 1982, this remix did twice as well and reached number 15.


22nd August is next.

46 comments:

  1. PP seemed the most enthusiastic he has been for a long time, though why his new friends in Kenya wanted him to wear that headband in the final link is a mystery. Perhaps his good mood was down in part to getting away from Smitty; Dixie is still a bit too eager to please, and still prone to exaggerated gestures on camera, but he was generally solid and I notice that he was entrusted with part of the chart rundown this time.

    King first, and Paul's mullet looks a bit shorter than before, though his propensity for preening has not diminished! Another forgotten hit from them, a simple affair which is built around the "na na na" part but is reasonably effective. It's certainly livelier than the flat-as-a-pancake cover version up next, which adds precisely nothing to the original and yet somehow managed to emulate it by reaching the top. Even the video is boring, the only notable thing about it being the various states of undress of some of those featured - presumably it was a hot day?

    Fresh from performing at both Live Aid concerts, Phil turns up in the studio to give a straightforward performance of a lesser-played effort which for me ranks as one of his better solo hits. There is a nicely propulsive rhythm to it, and the chorus is catchy and anthemic. This week's seemingly obligatory dose of lightweight soul comes from Total Contrast. I'm not sure what the contrast is meant to be, but musically they are indistinguishable from so many other soul/dance acts we have heard recently. Not a very memorable performance either, except for the cameo from the BBC security guard strolling around in the background.

    Dio's lumpen rock offering is the only one of the breakers we won't see again, which really isn't much of a loss - pretentious, OTT video too. Dixie messes up the title of the number 1 again, and D Train provide quite a lively playout with another old record to find new life the 1985 charts.

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  2. UB40 & Chrissie Hynde - I watched the BBC4 documentary on 3rd March called Promises & Lies: The Story of UB40, and the group were saying that they got their big break into the big time in 1980 when Chrissie Hynde asked them to tour with her, as she thought they were very good, despite no-one in Britain having heard of them before that point. So here 5 years later in 1985, they are on the verge of another No.1 with their best friend Chrissie, so it was a truly remarkable journey to this point in the decade, moving from relative obscurity to the big time.

    Breakers - really liked the Dio video for Rock n Roll Children, and another video I never knew existed, so I could do with watching it in full over the weekend, as it looks like a mini masterpiece in ACDC style, but a little less intense.

    Madonna with the top two singles on the chart. Good Lord, what a feat, and I must say also two of the best singles of 1985. I just love Get Into The Groove on video each time I watch it, and Madonna really knows how to move on a busy dance floor in that video, doesn't she?

    D-Train - did anyone notice the return of the cute blonde studio audience member, so regular on our screens in 1983 and 1984, and returning on the show for the first time since October 1984 when she last appeared in the front of the audience drooling over on Jeffrey Osborne's On The Wings Of Love. Here this week on the D-Train playout she is wearing a white two piece outfit, with the jacket featured lots of red flowers on it. Welcome back pretty lady!

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    1. UB40 are a bit of a Marmite band aren't they. I quite like some of their early stuff but my Wife can't stand them. Seems to be the same on here.

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    2. A big favourite of mine was If It Happens Again in 84, Please Don't Make Me Cry was a decent cover.

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    3. Yes I did notice her, pretty sure another 1983 regular was back as well the petite blond wearing a stripy red top, maybe they're mates?

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  3. Just heard the shocking news that darts legend Eric Bristow has died of a heart attack at the age of only 60. This only 6 years after the death of his arch rival Jocky Wilson at the age of only 62. Big time darts players seem to have a shorter lifespan that famous rockers who are just making it 68 or 70 if they are lucky. Only yesterday, legendary footballer Ray Wilkins died of a heart attack at only 61 years of age. What an awful week for sporting legends.

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    1. I can still recall watching the 1980 final against Bobby George, willing Bobby to win as he was born in Manor Park (near Ilford where I grew up). Eric won that day, and begun his years of domination. A real character. RIP

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    3. Yes indeed, and I think at No.1 in the charts when he took his prize was Brass In Pocket by The Pretenders. Ironic that, and and then on the same evening of his death, we say Chrissie on the BBC4 TOTP run with UB40 at No.3 with I Got You Babe. Strange twist, but nevertheless very sad to lose such a great sporting legend.

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    4. When you consider that Eric's world championship win of 1985 was to be his last, it is testament to his impact on the sport that, to non-darts aficionados, he remained the game's best-known name.

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    5. Yes five times winner...and he reached the final in 87, 89, 90, 91 (as well as the shock loss to Keith Deller in 1983). So, like Steve Davis who ruled snooker in the same era, Eric was truly the one to beat during the 80s. Like Steve he had his 'first round exit' moment in 1982 (losing to Steve Brennan).

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    6. Davis and Bristow are around the same age, but somehow I think Davis will live past 100, judging by his clean living health.

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  4. I really like Alone Without You though it only seems to get one showing. Never knew it at the time though, maybe it didn't get enough airplay.

    promotional video
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fjqUXHH6t4

    Good dramatic melody with Paul King doing his dramatic moves as usual.

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  5. king: another forgotten one. and listening again now like their previous effort it's not unduly bad, if a bit workmanlike. but sadly the spectre of the godawful "love and pride" can't help but prejudice my views on them

    ub40/chrissie hynde: the original version of this (by sonny & cher) was one of a handful of singles my mother had bought when in the charts, which i used as my "stabiliser wheels" for getting into pop music (others included "she loves you", "satisfaction" and "it's not unusual"). the bit i liked best was the instrumental build to a climax at the end, featuring a massive booming snare hit (that i noew realise sonny bono had nicked from his mentor phil "wall of sound" spector). but adding crowd noises at the end of this cover version (in what i think is the official video where they are in an empty stadium) does not begin to replicate that effect to anywhere near as much effect. i watched the recent bbc doc on UB40, mainly out of curiosity to see how each faction expressed themselves with regard to the current schism (not surprisingly each side felt the others were to blame). but it was noticable that ms hynde (who was interviewed for the programme) made no comment on it. i think she should have made noises about getting hold of ali and robin and then bashing their heads together to make them see sense! if i were the beak dealing with the case, my solution would be to decree what's left of the original band be called UB25 and the splinter trio UB15!

    phil collins: instantly forgettable. no wonder he blew loads of money on a globe-trotting video - it was to distract from the ordinariness of the recording! maybe as such he had none left over to hire a band to appear on the show with him?

    total contrast: at the risk of sterotyping, despite what he said about phil i suspect this was far more to dixie peach's liking. this is pretty decent club/dance material that came back to me as i listened, but not as good as a later (flop) effort of theirs called "what you gonna do about it"

    d train: this remains a classic early example of what became the club/dance sound that was all-conquering up until house took over circa 1987, but much as i like it, if you played it to me i have to say i probably wouldn't be able to tell if it was the oiriginal version or paul hardcastle's re-tooling of it

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    1. The video to Take Me Home was actually filmed during his No Jacket Required world tour.

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  7. Hi folks! I’ve got the week off work, so I got my act together and I’m hear a wee bit earlier. Usually it ‘takes a little time’ for me to get my critique done (see what I did there?).

    Dixie Peach is growing in confidence and growing on me. On the other hand, Peter POWELL is still pronouncing the wrong words, and this time he does an oh-so clever link so those who don’t know who Total Contrast are have to wait until Dixie’s proper outro link, mispronounces “Don Quixote” (no ‘x’ or ‘h’, whichever you prefer), babbles all over The Cars and wears a daft Dire Straits type bandana at the end. Arguably his worst show yet.

    At last! No more Montreux clips of “Cherish”!

    So, only Queen missing from the mugshot royal family.

    King’s guitarist wouldn’t look out of place in The Alarm, and their song has a U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” vibe if you ask me. Very angular moves by Paul, who really needed red socks to match his outfit. I’ve now worked out (you probably did so ages back) that it’s the drummer who’s the hired hand.

    Phil Collins making up for his receding hairline with a judge wig style mullet. I don’t know about “No Jacket Required”, more like shorter jacket required. I wonder if Phil’s decision to work in August for a change coincided with trying (successfully) to help shift his non-mover higher.

    Another long jacket straight afterwards for Total Contrast’s disco classic, which sounds better in a club than through TV speakers or PC headphones.

    The first two breakers feature deceased singers. Ronnie James Dio had also fronted Black Sabbath and Rainbow – he passed away in 2010 and a Dio statue can be found in Bulgaria. Baltimora’s Northern Irish singer Jimmy McShane died a decade after his hit from AIDs aged 37.

    The third breaker features yet another song in the top ten, so how can this actually be a breaker? Another weird yet wonderful anthem from Kate.

    I couldn’t hear The Cars through Peter’s Kenya babble. Luckily I could hear D Train’s dancefloor filler at the end, which got a decent amount of playout time on BBC4.

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    1. Crikey. Didnt realise that about Baltimore's singer.

      Glad I wasnt the only one jacket watching... 😀

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  8. I, too had forgotten this King track, but didn't mind hearing it again, it's a punchy little number though sadly now reminds one of Roxette's You Got the Look which seems to have ripped this off. Paul's self-regard is hard to take, mind you.

    UB40 and Chrissie, just think, Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, your mornings could have been worse - it could have been this version you heard a thousand times!

    Phil Collins with his punch the air anthem, or so he hoped judging by his hand movements nobody else is emulating. I imagine Slade wishes they'd recorded this one, but it wouldn't have been worth it.

    Total Contrast, had no memory of this, and now I still have no memory of it. By the numbers light pop soul, but well done on getting on the show at the 40 position.

    Breakers, with Dio being ridiculous as only an 80s hair metal band could. Made me laugh, anyway. The others will be back...

    Madonna queen of the castle twice over, and D Train to play out, pretty decent dance track though as mentioned above, I couldn't discern the difference between this and the original. Maybe it was a case of "if it ain't broke..."

    Perhaps those Kenyans didn't like Pete as much as he thought they did? Rambo was out that year, wasn't it?

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    1. Yes, First Blood Part 2 was released around this time.

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  9. I was going to say this will be my last one for a while as I head over to the other side of the world for a fortnight or so, but it looks like there will only be one show broadcast while I'm off so that's a bonus for me!

    King - The 'na na na' refrain makes this much more memorable than the last single. Not bad at all.

    UB40 & Hynde - Whereas this very much is bad.

    Phil Collins - He could have done with his usual entourage in the background for this one, looked a bit lost on his own. It also meant we had no option but to focus on the awful mullet and jacket. This song's grown on me over the years though.

    Total Contrast - It's 85, so here's our obligatory forgettable soul number.

    Breakers - Thank goodness we don't get the Dio song again, the other 2 are really good though.

    D Train - Good to hear this ever so slight remix. I don't think the original ever featured, did it? Maybe as a playout track again...

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  10. In a week where we have King, Prince, Princess but no Queen in the chart…

    King – Alone without you – Stone me! I don’t recall this one at all! But the next hit ‘The Taste of my Tears’ is very familiar. Pretty average this one.

    UB40 / Chrissie Hynde – I got you Babe – When I was young my parents bought an MFP album called Million Seller Hits Volume 2 featuring covers of well-known hits. A nice out of focus lady dancing on the cover, I just kept playing one track ‘I got you Babe’ as I loved it. A few years later I heard the original by Sonny and Cher and was blown away by the Spector like production, especially the ‘da-da’ oboe and a particular line “and when I’m sad, you’re a clown, and if I get scared you’re always around”. An extraordinary production and sound to get to no1 in 1965 on both sides of the Atlantic. Years later I heard this and ‘underwhelmed’ is too kind a word for how I felt. Just like a glass of water boiled dry, it’s lost everything that made it a great song and production. The British record buying public clearly disagreed with me. I’ll say no more in future weeks other than ‘FF’.

    Phil Collins – Take me Home – Another one with Sting lurking on backing vocals (along with Helen Terry and Peter Gabriel). A great concert closer but not really single material. The B side was ‘We said hello goodbye’ and this previously was only available as a bonus track on the CD release of ‘No Jacket Required’. Quite unusual at the time, but a great track.

    Total Contrast – Takes a little time - …not when you hit ‘FF’

    Breakers – Wow! That Dio video looks great! Ronnie James Dio used to be in Rainbow and Black Sabbath and sung lead on the underrated single by Roger Glover and Friends, ‘Love is all’. His highlight for me is with the former band, no more so than on the moving ’Catch the Rainbow’ which if you haven’t heard it before, the live version from the ‘On Stage’ album is a real treat. Baltimore’s ‘Tarzan Boy’ was a different kettle of fish to Ronnie entirely but I suppose I can see its appeal. Finally Kate Bush surprised me with ‘Running up that Hill’ in that I quite liked it.

    Top10 – Enjoyed the Cars with ‘Drive’ again. Sheer class.

    Madonna – Into the Groove – What an achievement! No1 and no2 in the same week with two timeless singles.

    D Train – You’re the one for me – I got off…

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    1. Yes it was good to see The Cars having top ten success second time round with Drive, thanks to Live Aid resurrecting the interest in this song. A good excuse to see the lovely model in the video, despite her playing an anguished character in it. One of the great tunes of the 80s, never to be forgotten.

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    2. Love is All is maybe better known as the theme from The Butterfly Ball, the concert film that featured an animated "video" to that song which was played as filler when TV programmes were running early.

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  11. Back to the show...

    Dixie still not looking entirely comfortable and PP his usual professional self.

    First up King with a number I don't recall. Opinion in the Morgie house is we like it. The red and white striped trousers remind me of something from another TV show I can't place...

    I am a big fan of this version of I Got You Babe, was a real bedroom singalong in the 80s. Ali did a cover of I Just Can't Help Falling In Love With You in the early 90s that I really liked as well

    Phil up next and he's forgotten his Piano and his jacket (clearly having to borrow someone else's). We are PC fans in this house.
    I remember Face Value and No Jacket Required being all over the news at the time as they were a huge part of the counterfeit cassette story. Being sold off at Car Boot sales I think. Funny what you remember...

    Total Contrast. Who? Doing well to get a showing based on just being Number 40 these days. Good little song. Adding this to the playlist.

    Charts next. Not heard of Dio. Baltimore... AHHH. Go West gets a cheer. Who is still buying that Gary Moore record. Kool and the Gang out of the top ten. Finally...

    Breakers
    And here is Dio. Rock music. And cheesy Meatloaf rock at that. Next
    Hi Dory 😝
    Tarzan Boy. My god, a song of Frankie levels of annoyance I will be singing for weeks.
    Kate Bush into the Top 10. Like this one.. Always scared me as a child. No idea why... But maybe it was those creepy women in the video. Shame they didn't play it all.

    Nice to see Nik Kershaw in the Top Ten.
    Cars back again thanks to Live Aid and a plug for PPs show.
    Bit of a change to the Top 3 after a few stagnant weeks. UB40 and double Madge. Into The Groove such a great song.

    Great play out song too..

    Great show this week. Best for ages and now we get a break... See you all in a few weeks...

    Now where is Wifey with my coffee...




    Disclaimer:joke - I made the coffee, stay calm everyone... 😀

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    2. Well I would add Total Contrast to the playlist but its not on Spotify. Oh well

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    3. I always remember Simon Mayo's Breakfast Show producer doing a hilarious impression of Ali Campbell's "pub singer" crooning on UB40's Can't Help cover.

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  12. If anyone is interested, the show from 5 February 1970 is currently available on WeTransfer. It's well worth watching, as there are a number of absolute classics featured like Both Sides Now, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Venus and I Can't Get Next to You, plus the first-ever time the Jackson 5 (or Jackson's 5, as far as this show is concerned) ever got played on TOTP:

    https://we.tl/t0cCYv4dAL

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    1. Best for me Jackson 5, Joni Mitchell and BJ Thomas. The folky dance of Both Sides Now was elegant.

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    2. It was actually Judy Collins performing Both Sides Now here, though of course Joni wrote it. A great song, anyway.

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    3. That may be why I liked it more than normal then, nice performance.

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    4. I think Judy's version is widely held to be the definitive one, and it certainly is for me.

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    5. the correct title of the joni mitchell song in question is actually "both sides, now". although the purpose or significance of the comma is beyond me i'm afraid (and much akin to songs with nonsensical/pretentious bits of the title in brackets)

      sadly joni never troubled the top 30 chart compilers in these re-runs to my recollection. but she was a big influence on me when i was in my twenties in the mid-to-late 80's (and a probably a good reason why my interest in the charts waned around that time). i'm not keen on her early folky stuff a la "both sides, now", but love much of what she did when she got in jazzers like tom scott, jaco pastorius and the crusaders to back her up

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    6. I think most people share your view of the pointlessness of that comma, Wilberforce (if they are even aware that it should be there), as I can't remember ever seeing it used as part of the title!

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  14. John thanks for that it's great to see. I have a few little nuggets that I have found that some of you may enjoy whilst waiting for the next 1985 show:-

    The Commodores finest coupled with Pans People?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NISj4xSWK0M

    An absolutely beautiful record from ONJ
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETBQbrvvvLE

    Strange looking keyboard player here on one of their more obscure offerings
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS1XsFYZ_t4

    This was quite a shock after 'Amoureuse'..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAFNazI9LHQ

    My favourite Mud track; dig Rob's shades!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T78KmtE9aOI&list=PLO45_t2nsgdA8T71Vrg2L8eUfp4lojfo8&index=3

    ...and one you've all probably forgotten about
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c67thBxNmgo

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    1. Some great finds there sct, especially The Commodores (far preferable to the later saccharine ballads), Sparks and Brian Protheroe. I think the latter's voice is quite similar to Tom Robinson's.

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    2. Brian Protheroe's a voiceover artist these days. He narrates something on the telly right now - I think it's Channel 4's "First Dates".

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    3. Obviously The Commodores song is a classic, but the clip feels unwatchable with all that wording in the middle of the picture. Just not necessary.

      The ONJ track I may have underrated, not bad.

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    4. Brian Protheroe has had quite a prolific acting career, turning up in everything from the original Christopher Reeve Superman film to Holby City and Midsomer Murders.

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    5. I forgot to say the Kiki Dee is decent too, though I like Amoureuse more. Showing she can do a soul dance number (early disco really) as well as an atmospheric ballad.

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  15. here's some responses to sct's rare totp clips:

    commodores: i totally agree it's their finest moment, although there were several other decent funk workouts before lionel richtea decided money in the bank was better than street cred

    onj: not too keen on this, but i think she did a good job with the lesley duncan tune "love song" (you couldn't get two more contrasting voices, but both recordings work)

    sparks: ron mael always cracks me up (even though as far as sparks are concerned only "this town" matters). but i'm surprised his adolph-act isn't banned these days!

    kiki dee: not a fan, so i'll pass on this

    mud: post-shark jumping for me i'm afraid (that moment was "rocket")

    brian protheroe: was aware of him but had never heard this until very recently... as a result of trawling nigel's "golden years" website! not something i'll be looking to acquire, but it's quite listenable and well-produced acoustic-based rock

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  16. Had another watch of the Madonna video Into The Groove, and doesn't she move well on that dance floor, grabbing the interest of the guy dancing next to her. Now that is 'Groove'.

    For me, Madonna came of age at this point in her hit singles catalog. It is no coincidence that this was her first No.1 in Britain. Good Lord, and this is only the start of a No.1 barrage that would continue, well into the next decade even!

    "Get Into The Groove, boy you got to prove your love to me, yeh, get up on your feet, yeh step to the beat, boy what will it be......Gonna get to know you in a special way, it doesn't happen to me everyday......"

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  17. Interesting fashion statement from King - dress suit jacket with shell suit bottoms...

    Not many bands in the studio - was this when The Chart Show started?...

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